The Dirichlet space is one of the three fundamental Hilbert spaces of holomorphic functions on the unit disk. It boasts a rich and beautiful theory, yet at the same time remains a source of challenging open problems and a subject of active mathematical research. This book is the first systematic account of the Dirichlet space, assembling results previously only found in scattered research articles, and improving upon many of the proofs. Topics treated include: the Douglas and Carleson formulas for the Dirichlet integral, reproducing kernels, boundary behaviour and capacity, zero sets and uniqueness sets, multipliers, interpolation, Carleson measures, composition operators, local Dirichlet spaces, shift-invariant subspaces, and cyclicity. Special features include a self-contained treatment of capacity, including the strong-type inequality. The book will be valuable to researchers in function theory, and with over 100 exercises it is also suitable for self-study by graduate students.

Potential theory is the broad area of mathematical analysis encompassing such topics as harmonic and subharmonic functions, the Dirichlet problem, harmonic measure, Green's functions, potentials and capacity. This is an introduction to the subject suitable for beginning graduate students, concentrating on the important case of two dimensions. This permits a simpler treatment than other books, yet is still sufficient for a wide range of applications to complex analysis; these include Picard's theorem, the Phragmen-Lindeloef principle, the Koebe one-quarter mapping theorem and a sharp quantitative form of Runge's theorem. In addition there is a chapter on connections with functional analysis and dynamical systems, which shows how the theory can be applied to other parts of mathematics, and gives a flavour of some recent research. Exercises are provided throughout, enabling the book to be used with advanced courses on complex analysis or potential theory.

Ransford provides an introduction to the subject, concentrating on the important case of two dimensions, and emphasizing its links with complex analysis. This is reflected in the large number of applications, which include Picard's theorem, the Phragmén-Lindelöf principle, the Radó-Stout theorem, Lindelöf's theory of asymptotic values, the Riemann mapping theorem (including continuity at the boundary), the Koebe one-quarter theorem, Hilbert's lemniscate theorem, and the sharp quantitative form of Runge's theorem. In addition, there is a chapter on connections with functional analysis and dynamical systems, which shows how the theory can be applied to other parts of mathematics and gives a flavor of some recent research in the area.